04 Jun COMPANIES: “XBRL” IS COMING SOON. WHAT IS IT AND ARE YOU AFFECTED?

The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) will from 1 July 2018 require that all Annual Financial Statements (AFS) submitted to the CIPC be in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) format.

What is XBRL and what are its benefits?

It is a global standard for digital reporting. It uses a tagging software system whereby data can be used across many platforms without needing to recapture it.

This means it saves time, is more accurate and can be used as an analytic tool. For example, CIPC will be able to meaningfully compare AFS from different organisations which will be of value to users such as investors.